Oil company accused of inflating fuel prices by 10 baht per litre
An Ang Thong oil company has been reported to police for allegedly overcharging on fuel, adding nearly 10 baht per litre above the permitted transport cost of 0.16 baht per litre.
On March 27, Sikan Fueangfung, the Ang Thong commerce official and secretary of the provincial committee on prices of goods and services, met with Police Lieutenant Colonel Mongkol Pantaa, the deputy investigation officer, at Mueang Ang Thong Police Station. The complaint was filed under the Price of Goods and Services Act of 1999, sections 29 and 41.
The law prohibits deliberately setting prices excessively low or high, or causing market disruption. Violators face up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to 140,000 baht, or both.
Earlier that day, at 10am, the provincial committee convened to review fuel pricing in the province. The meeting was attended by the Ang Thong governor, provincial prosecutor, commerce official, chairman of the provincial industrial council, public health official, other committee members, and representatives from Ang Thong’s energy sector.
The committee examined fuel reference prices against market rates. According to the deputy director of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, diesel prices outside Bangkok and its vicinity should reflect the capital’s retail fuel prices plus an allowance for transport costs. For Ang Thong, that permitted addition is 0.16 baht per litre.
However, the oil company in question had been selling fuel to a Sing Buri station at 40.50 baht per litre, despite acquiring it from the depot at only 30.85 baht per litre, according to documentation reviewed by the committee.
The committee determined the company had been selling fuel at an unreasonably high price, intentionally inflating costs and causing market instability, and referred the matter to Mueang Ang Thong police for further legal action.
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